﻿84 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



44865 to 44884— Continued. 



44880 to 44882. Vigna sinensis (Torner) Savi. Fabacese. Cowpea. 



"(Market, Willemstad, Curagao, Dutch West Indies, March, 1917.) 

 Boontje del Baliza." (Curran.) 



Descriptive notes by Mr. W. J. Morse, Office of Forage-Crop Investiga- 

 tions, Bureau of Plant Industry. 



44880. " No. 1. A red cowpea, quite similar to our Red Ripper." 



44881. "No. 2. A clay-colored cowpea, resembling some of our 

 medium-maturing Clay varieties." 



44882. " No. 3. A speckled cowpea, resembling our WhippoorwiU 

 variety." 



44883. Melicocca bijuga L. Sapindacese. 



"(Sabanete de Montiel, Venezuela, May, 1917.)" (Curran.) 



44884. Mimosa sp. MimosaceaB. 



"(La Estacadita, near Sabanita de Coro, Venezuela, May, 1917.) 

 Cabudero. A common, small, leguminous tree with white flowers." 

 ( Curran. ) 



44885. Pruntjs salicifolia H. B. K. Amygdala cea?. Capuli. 



From the city of Guatemala, Guatemala. Collected by Mr. Wilson Po- 

 penoe, agricultural explorer. Received June 12, 1917. Quoted notes by 

 Mr. Popenoe. 

 "(No. 128a. May 16, 1917.) The wild cherry of the Guatemalan highlands, 

 called cereza in Spanish and capuli in the Kiche Indian dialect. The tree is 

 found both wild and cultivated in the mountains of Guatemala, from altitudes 

 of about 4,000 up to 9,000 feet or perhaps higher. As commonly seen, the tree 

 is erect, often somewhat slender, reaching a height of about 30 feet, the trunk 

 stout (occasionally as much as 3 feet thick), and the bark rough and grayish. 

 The young branchlets are dotted with grayish lenticels. The leaves, which are 

 borne upon slender petioles three-quarters of an inch long, are commonly 4£ 

 inches in length, \\ to 1| inches in breadth at the widest point, oblong- 

 lanceolate in outline, with a long, slender tip. The upper surface is dull green, 

 the lower surface glaucous, and the margin is rather finely serrate. The flow- 

 ers, which are produced from January to May, are white, about three-eighths 

 of an inch wide, and very numerous, on slender racemes 2 to 4 inches in 

 length. 



As many as 15 or 20 fruits sometimes develop on a single raceme, but many 

 drop off before reaching maturity, with the result that two to five ripe fruits are 

 commonly found on each raceme. The season of ripening in Guatemala is from 

 May to September. The ripe fruits, which are slightly oblate in form and up to 

 three-quarters of an inch in diameter, separate readily from the short fruit 

 stalks, leaving the green 5-toothed calyxes adhering to the latter. In color the 

 fruit is deep glossy maroon-purple. The skin is thin and tender, but so firm that 

 the fruit is not easily injured by handling. The flesh is pale green, meaty, but 

 full of juice. The flavor is sweet, suggestive of the Bigarreau type of cherry, 

 with a trace of bitterness in the skin. The stone is a trifle large in comparison 

 with the size of the fruit. 



" Pleasant to eat out of hand, this cherry can also be eaten in various other 

 ways — stewed or made into preserves or jams. In Guatemala it is most com- 

 monly eaten out of hand and as a sweet preserve. 



